Machine having rear-mounted tool coupler

ABSTRACT

A machine is disclosed as having a body, and left and right traction devices supporting opposing sides of the body. The machine may also have a power source mounted to the body at a front end relative to a normal travel direction. The power source may be configured to drive the left and right traction devices. The machine may further have left and right lift arms. Each of the left and right lift arms may have a base end pivotally connected at a back end of the body to a location gravitationally above the left and right traction devices, respectively. The machine may additionally have a tool coupler mounted to distal ends of the left and right lift arms.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a machine and, moreparticularly, to a machine having a rear-mounted tool coupler.

BACKGROUND

A construction machine operating at a typical worksite is often requiredto perform a variety of different functions, for example, digging,leveling, grading, hauling, lifting, trenching, hammering, compacting,etc. These functions are most efficiently conducted using toolsspecifically designed for each of the different functions. A toolcoupler is a common way to connect the tools to the front of a machine.A tool coupler attaches to existing linkage structure and hydraulics ofthe machine, and functions as a generic adapter for interchangeableconnection with an assortment of different tools.

While a tool coupler mounted to the front of a machine may increase theversatility of the machine, such a configuration also has itslimitations. In particular, there may be times when space at the frontof the machine is unavailable for use with a tool coupler. For example,the space at the front of the machine could already be taken by anotherpermanent or removable tool. In addition, there may be applications thatrequire interchangeable tools at the rear of the machine, andconventional tool couplers may not be designed for this purpose.

One attempt to address the issues discussed above is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 8,024,875 (the '875 patent) by WETZEL et al. that issued onSep. 27, 2011. In particular, the '875 patent discloses a compactexcavator having a base frame with an undercarriage, and an upper framerotatably attached to a top side of the base frame. The undercarriageincludes left and right tracks mounted at the sides of the base frame. Afirst implement assembly is pinned to the upper frame, and a secondimplement assembly is attached to the base frame between the left andright tracks. The second implement assembly includes lift arms, a pairof hydraulic actuators, and an implement coupler. Different tools can beremovably connected to the implement coupler.

Although the excavator of the '875 patent may have two differentimplement assemblies, including an implement coupler, the excavator maystill be less than optimal. For example, the location of the couplerbeing between the left and right tracks may limit the types and sizes oftools that can be connected to the excavator. In addition, thearrangement of the two implement assemblies of the '875 patent may notprovide enough versatility to the excavator or the range of motionrequired for some applications.

The machine and tool coupler of the present disclosure address one ormore of the needs set forth above and/or other problems of the priorart.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to machine. The machinemay include a body, and left and right traction devices supportingopposing sides of the body. The machine may also include a power sourcemounted to the body at a front end relative to a normal traveldirection. The power source may be configured to drive the left andright traction devices. The machine may further include left and rightlift arms. Each of the left and right lift arms may have a base endpivotally connected at a back end of the body to a locationgravitationally above the left and right traction devices, respectively.The machine may additionally include a tool coupler mounted to distalends of the left and right lift arms.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to another machine.This machine may include a body, an operator cabin supported on the bodyand having a floor, and left and right traction devices connected toopposing sides of the body. The machine may also include a power sourcemounted to the body at a front end of the operator cabin relative to anormal travel direction. The power source may be configured to drive theleft and right traction devices. The machine may further include leftand right lift arms pivotally connected at a back end of the body, and atool coupler mounted to the left and right lift arms. The left and rightlift arms are located completely above the floor of the operator cabinwhen raised to a highest lift position.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to anothermachine. This machine may include a body, an operator cabin supported onthe body and having a floor, and left and right traction devicesconnected to opposing sides of the body. The machine may also include apower source mounted to the body at a front end of the operator cabinrelative to a normal travel direction. The power source may beconfigured to drive the left and right traction devices. The machine mayfurther include a tool linkage system removably connected to the frontend of the body, and a tool coupler non-removably connected to a rearend of the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are side-view illustrations of an exemplary disclosedmachine equipped with different removable tool systems;

FIG. 3 is an isometric illustration of an exemplary tool couplernon-removably mounted to a rear end of the machine of FIGS. 1 and 2,without any associated tool system; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric illustration of the tool coupler of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 both illustrate an exemplary machine 10 equipped withdifferent front tool systems 12 and different rear tool systems 14.Machine 10 may be a mobile machine that performs some type of operationassociated with an industry, such as mining, construction, farming,transportation, or any other industry known in the art. In the disclosedexample, machine 10 is a general track-type-tractor capable of acceptingany number of different front and rear tool systems 12, 14, therebybecoming an application-specific machine. In the example of FIG. 1,front tool system 12 is a loader system having a loading-type buckettool 16, while rear tool system 14 is a trenching system having atrencher tool 18. In the example of FIG. 2, front tool system 12 is adozing system having a blade-type tool 20, while rear tool system 14 isa back-hoe system having a excavating-type bucket tool 22. In general,front tool systems 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may be interchangeable with eachother (and with other front tool systems that are not shown) andremovably connected to machine 10. Likewise, rear tool systems 14 may beinterchangeable with each other (and with other rear tool systems thatare not shown) and removably connected to machine 10. Front tool systems12, however, may not be interchangeable with rear tool systems 14. Forthe purposes of this disclosure, removably connected may be defined asconnected without the use of threaded fasteners or welding, andconnected in such a manner that tools or cutting, bending, and otherdestructive processes are not required for removal.

It should be noted that, while machine 10 is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2as a track-type-tractor, machine 10 could be another type of machine, ifdesired. For example, machine 10 could be a wheeled machine. It is alsocontemplated that machine 10 may have a fixed or integrated tool system,in addition to front and/or rear tool systems 12, 14 that are removable.For example, machine 10 could be a haul truck having an integrated bed,in addition to or instead of one or both of front and rear tool systems12, 14.

Machine 10 includes, among other things, a body (“machine body”) 24, apower source (e.g., an engine) 26 mounted to machine body 24 at a frontend thereof (i.e., relative to a normal travel direction), one or moretraction devices 28 driven by power source 26, and an operator cabin 30supported above machine body 24. Operator cabin 30 may house any numberand type of input devices 32 for use by the operator in controllingfront and rear tool systems 12, 14, power source 26, and/or tractiondevices 28. Operator cabin 30 may have a floor 33 located at a heightgravitationally above traction devices 28.

As shown in FIG. 3, the disclosed traction devices 28 embody paralleltracks 34 located at opposing sides of body 24. Each track 34 maycomprise a plurality of crawler shoes pinned end-to-end to form anendless loop. The endless loop of crawler shoes may wrap around acorresponding sprocket 36 and idler wheel 38. Sprocket 36 may engage thepins (or engage bushings that encase the pins) of the crawler shoes andthereby transmit torque from power source 26 to tack 34. Idler wheel 38(as well as a number of aligned rollers 40) may guide the crawler shoesin a general elliptical trajectory around sprocket 36.

Rear tool system 14 should be connected to the rear end of machine body24 in such a way as to clear traction devices 28 and still provide awide range of motion and lift. For this purpose, a tool coupler(“coupler”) 42 may be non-removably connected to machine body 24 by wayof a linkage arrangement 44, and rear tool system 14 may be removablyconnected to machine 10 by way of coupler 42.

As shown in both FIGS. 3 and 4, coupler 42 may take any conventionalform known in the art and be used to facilitate a quick connectionbetween rear tool system 14 machine 10. For example, coupler 42 mayinclude a frame 46 that extends widthwise across the back end of machinebody 24. Frame 46 may have an upper edge 48 and a lower edge 50. In someembodiments, upper edge 48 may be plate-like. In other embodiments,however, upper edge 48 may be rounded (e.g., fabricated from a tube). Insome embodiments, a center portion of frame 46 at upper edge 48 may dipdownward to provide a better view of rear tool system 14. An outwardface of frame 46 may be generally planar, and any number of verticalwebs and/or supports may be located at an inner face of frame 46 to helpstiffen frame 46. The different components of frame 46 may be weldedand/or bolted to each other. Frame 46 may be connected to linkagearrangement 44 via two upper pins 52 and two lower pins 54; one locatedon each corner.

Coupler 42 may also include one or more wedges 56 that are disposed toslide vertically within frame 46 at lower edge 50, After hooks or othersimilar features of rear tool system 14 are placed over upper edge 48 offrame 46, wedges 56 may be pushed downward to extend out of frame 46 andinto corresponding pockets 58 (one pocket 58 shown in FIG. 1) of reartool system 14. Each of wedges 56 may be pushed downward and out offrame 46 manually (e.g., by way of a lever 60), or automatically (e.g.,by way of hydraulic cylinders or motors—not shown), as desired. Whenwedges 56 are located within pockets 58, there may not be enoughvertical space between pockets 58 and the hooks of rear tool system 14to allow upper edge 48 of coupler 42 to be released from the hooks. Onlywhen wedges 56 are pulled back out of pockets 58, can rear tool system14 be removed from coupler 42. In this manner, rear tool system 14 maybe removably connected to machine 10 by way of coupler 42 and linkagearrangement 44.

Linkage arrangement 44 may include left and right lift arms 62 connectedbetween left and right adapters 64 (only left adapter 64 shown in FIGS.1-3) and corresponding left and right sides of coupler 42. Each lift arm62 may have a base end pivotally connected to an upper-most pin 66 ofthe corresponding adapter 64, and a distal end pivotally connected tocoupler 42 at pin 54. In some embodiments, lift arms 62 may also beconnected to each other at the distal ends by way of a cross-brace 68.

Left and right lift cylinders 70 may connect lower-most pins 72 ofadapters 64 to midpoint pins 74 of the corresponding lift arms 62. Inthis arrangement, coordinated extensions of lift cylinders 70 mayfunction to raise the distal ends of lift arms 62, along with coupler 42and rear tool system 14 (if attached). In contrast, the coordinatedretraction of lift cylinders 70 may function to lower the distal ends oflift arms 62.

Left and right tilt cylinders 76 may extend from pins 78 at the baseends of lift arms 62 to pins 52 at the top corners of coupler 42. Inthis arrangement, coordinated extensions of tilt cylinders 76 mayfunction to tilt outward the top edge of coupler 42 and thereby rotaterear tool system 14 downward (if attached). In contrast, the coordinatedretraction of tilt cylinders 76 may function to tilt inward the top edgeof coupler 42 and thereby rotate rear tool system 14 upward.

Adapters 64 may be connected (e.g., welded or bolted) to opposing sidesof machine body 24. Each adapter 64 may have a general L-shape, with ahorizontal portion and a longer vertical portion (i.e., horizontal andvertical relative to an installed orientation on machine 10). Thehorizontal and vertical portions may be integral, and fabricatedprimarily from plate stock. Pin 66 may be located at a distal end of thevertical portion (e.g., at a fore/aft location between idler wheel 38and drive sprocket 36, and at a vertical location above floor 33 ofcabin 30), while pin 72 may be located at a distal end of the horizontalportion (e.g., at a fore/aft location closer to idler wheel 38 than pin66, and at a vertical location below floor 33). The horizontal portionof adapter 64 may extend along floor 33 of cabin 30 (e.g., at a levelgravitationally below floor 33 and above traction devices 28). In someembodiments, lift cylinders 70 may be housed inside the horizontalportions of adapters 64, and thereby at least partially shielded fromenvironmental conditions. The vertical portion of adapter 64 may extendalong a door rear frame of cabin 30 (e.g., at a location rearward of anassociated doorway).

The shape and location of adapters 64, in combination with theconfiguration of lift arms 62 and lift cylinders 70, may provide forunique movements of rear tool system 14. For example, because adapters64 may be elevated above traction devices 28 and pins 66 may be furtherelevated above floor 33 of cabin 30, when lift cylinders 70 fullyextend, lift arms 62 may move to positions completely above floor 33.This may cause coupler 42 to be lifted through an arc above tractiondevices 28 to a high position, which allows coupler 42 to be used withspecific tool systems (e.g., with trencher tool 18 of FIG. 1) thatotherwise could not be connected to the back end of a machine. In thedisclosed embodiment, coupler 42 may be raised to a height about 1 m offa ground surface, on which traction devices 28 rest. In addition, whenlift cylinders 70 are fully extended (i.e., when lift arms 62 are fullyraised) and when tilt cylinders 76 are simultaneously fully extended,tilt cylinders and coupler 42 may be generally parallel with floor 33.This may provide a range of tilting motion greater than about 180°,which may be beneficial for some tool systems (e.g., trencher tool 18 ofFIG. 1). Further, when coupler 42 is in a lowest position (i.e., whenlift arms 62 are fully retracted), the distal ends of lift cylinders 70may be located above drive sprocket 36 (i.e., at the rear ends oftraction devices 28), such that subsequent downward tilting does notcause interference between a connected rear tool system 14 and tractiondevice 28.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The presently disclosed tool coupler and associated linkage system areapplicable to any mobile machine to increase the functionality of themachine. For example, a general-use machine may utilize the disclosedtool coupler and linkage system to selectively connect a trencher tool,a back-hoe, or another tool to the back end of the machine, such thatthe machine can be used for many different purposes. This increase infunctionality lowers capital costs for the machine owner, and/or allowsfor increased business opportunities.

Several advantages are associated with the disclosed tool coupler andlinkage system. In particular, the disclosed tool coupler and linkagesystem may allow for quick and easy attachment of a rear tool system tomachine 10. In addition, the disclosed tool coupler and linkage systemmay provide for the lift, range of motion, and orientation required by abroad range of rear tool systems.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the machine, tool couplerand linkage system of the present disclosure without departing from thescope of the disclosure. Other embodiments will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the machine, tool coupler and linkage system disclosed herein. It isintended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplaryonly, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by thefollowing claims and their equivalent.

What is claimed is
 1. A machine, comprising: a body; left and righttraction devices supporting opposing sides of the body; a power sourcemounted to the body at a front end relative to a normal traveldirection, the power source being configured to drive the left and righttraction devices; left and right lift arms, each having a base endpivotally connected at a back end of the body to a locationgravitationally above the left and right traction devices, respectively;and a tool coupler mounted to distal ends of the left and right liftarms.
 2. The machine of claim 1, further including: a left adapterconfigured to connect the base end of the left lift arm to a left sideof the body; and a right adapter configured to connect the base end ofthe right lift arm to right side of the body.
 3. The machine of claim 2,wherein: each of the left and right adapters are generally L-shaped,having a vertical portion configured to extend along a door rear frameof the machine and a horizontal portion configured to extend along acabin floor of the machine; and the base end of each of the left andright lift arms is pivotally connected to a distal end of the verticalportion.
 4. The machine of claim 2, further including: lift cylindersextending from the left and right adapters to the left and right liftarms, respectively; and tilt cylinders extending from the left and rightlift arms to opposing sides of the tool coupler.
 5. The machine of claim4, wherein: each of the left and right traction devices includes anidler wheel, a drive sprocket, and a track extending around the idlerwheel and the drive sprocket; and each of the lift cylinders has astationary end located above the track and between the idler wheel andthe drive sprocket, and a movable end that moves through an arc abovethe track during lifting of the tool coupler.
 6. The machine of claim 5,wherein when the tool coupler is in a lowest position, the movable endsof the lift cylinders are located above the drive sprocket.
 7. Themachine of claim 1, further including an operator cabin supported by thebody and having a floor, wherein when the tool coupler is lifted to ahighest position, the left and right lift arms are completely above thefloor of the operator cabin.
 8. The machine of claim 7, wherein when thetool coupler is lifted to the highest position, the left and right liftarms are generally parallel with the floor of the operator cabin.
 9. Amachine, comprising: a body; an operator cabin supported on the body andhaving a floor; left and right traction devices connected to opposingsides of the body; a power source mounted to the body at a front end ofthe operator cabin relative to a normal travel direction, the powersource being configured to drive the left and right traction devices;left and right lift arms pivotally connected at a back end of the body;and a tool coupler mounted to the left and right lift arms, wherein theleft and right lift arms are located completely above the floor of theoperator cabin when raised to a highest lift position.
 10. The machineof claim 9, further including: a left adapter configured to connect abase end of the left lift arm to a left side of the body; and a rightadapter configured to connect a base end of the right lift arm to rightside of the body.
 11. The machine of claim 10, wherein: each of the leftand right adapters are generally L-shaped, having a vertical portionconfigured to extend along a door rear frame of the machine and ahorizontal portion configured to extend along a cabin floor of themachine; and the base end of each of the left and right lift arms ispivotally connected to a distal end of the vertical portion.
 12. Themachine of claim 11, further including: lift cylinders extending fromthe left and right adapters to the left and right lift arms,respectively; and tilt cylinders extending from the left and right liftarms to opposing sides of the tool coupler.
 13. The machine of claim 12,wherein: each of the left and right traction devices includes an idlerwheel, a drive sprocket, and a track extending around the idler wheeland the drive sprocket; and each of the lift cylinders has a stationaryend located above the track and between the idler wheel and the drivesprocket, and a movable end that moves through an arc above the trackduring lifting of the tool coupler.
 14. The machine of claim 13, whereinwhen the tool coupler is in a lowest position, the movable ends of thelift cylinders are located above the drive sprocket.
 15. The machine ofclaim 9, wherein when the left and right lift arms are raised to thehighest lift position, the left and right lift arms are generallyparallel with the floor of the operator cabin.
 16. A machine,comprising: a body; an operator cabin supported on the body and having afloor; left and right traction devices connected to opposing sides ofthe body; a power source mounted to the body at a front end of theoperator cabin relative to a normal travel direction, the power sourcebeing configured to drive the left and right traction devices; a toollinkage system removably connected to the front end of the body; and atool coupler non-removably connected to a rear end of the body.
 17. Themachine of claim 16, further including left and right lift armsconnecting the tool coupler to the body, each of the left and right liftarms having a base end pivotally connected to the body at a locationgravitationally above the left and right traction devices, and a distalend connected to the tool coupler.
 18. The machine of claim 17, whereinthe left and right lift arms are located completely above the floor ofthe operator cabin when raised to a highest lift position.
 19. Themachine of claim 17, further including: a left adapter configured toconnect the base end of the left lift arm to a left side of the body;and a right adapter configured to connect the base end of the right liftarm to right side of the body, wherein; each of the left and rightadapters are generally L-shaped, having a vertical portion configured toextend along a door rear frame of the operator cabin and a horizontalportion configured to extend along the floor of the operator cabin; andthe base end of each of the left and right lift arms is pivotallyconnected to a distal end of the vertical portion.
 20. The machine ofclaim 19, further including: lift cylinders extending from the left andright adapters to the left and right lift arms, respectively; and tiltcylinders extending from the left and right lift arms to opposing sidesof the tool coupler, wherein: each of the left and right tractiondevices includes an idler wheel, a drive sprocket, and a track extendingaround the idler wheel and the drive sprocket; and each of the liftcylinders has a stationary end located above the track and between theidler wheel and the drive sprocket, and a movable end that moves throughan arc above the track during lifting of the tool coupler.